Summary
Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) facedfour major league villainsinStar Trek: The Next Generation’s movies, and here they are ranked worst to best. Starting with 1994’sStar Trek Generations,directed by David Carson, the cast ofStar Trek: The Next Generationtook over theStar Trekmovie franchise. Three more films followed; 1996’sStar Trek: First Contactand 1998’sStar Trek: Insurrection, directed by Jonathan Frakes, and 2002’sStar Trek: Nemesis, directed by Stuart Baird.
Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban), the eponymous villain ofStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, looms over the cinematic adversaries Captain Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D and E faced. Khan is considered the ultimateStar Trekmovie villain, even today. WhenStar Trek: The Next Generationswitched to feature films, they required larger-than-life heavies, and nearly all ofStar Trek: The Next Generation’s moviestried to create their version of Khan. It’s notable thatthe most successfulTNGmovie villain wasn’t a Khan substitutebut an expansion ofStar Trek: The Next Generation’s greatest foe.
Star Trek: TNG’s movies eschewed the TV series' morality tales in favor of big screen bombast, turning Captain Picard himself into an action hero.
Every Star Trek Movie In Chronological Order
With 13 entries in the Star Trek movie series from 1979-2006, there are a couple of ways to watch the films chronologically.
Played By F. Murray Abraham In Star Trek: Insurrection
Ad’har Ru’afo was the leader of the Son’a, a nomadic race who were originally part of the Ba’ku people. Ru’afo partnered with Starfleet Admiral Dougherty (Anthony Zerbe) to take the metaphasic particles of the Briar Patch, a region of space which has regenerative effects akin to a ‘Fountain of Youth’. Ru’afo and Dougherty’s plan would have rendered the planet Ba’ku uninhabitable, so Starfleet planned to forcibly relocate the Ba’ku people. Captain Picard and the USS Enterprise-E commit an insurrection against Starfleet to foil this plot and save the Ba’ku.
Ru’afo may be best known for his comical scream.
Despite his treachery,Ru’afo doesn’t project the necessary menace of a truly greatStar Trekmovie villain. Ru’afo may be best known for his comical scream toward the end ofStar Trek: Insurrection.Ru’afo and the Son’a were willing to commit genocide against the Ba’ku, but they didn’t pose much of a problem for Captain Picard and the USS Enterprise-E. Meanwhile, Admiral Dougherty was the latest in a long line ofevil Starfleet Admirals, but he was betrayed and murdered by Ru’afo. However, Academy Award-winner F. Murray Abraham does what he can from beneath Ru’afo’s prosthetics to make hisStar Trek: Insurrectionvillain memorable.
3Dr. Tolian Soran
Played By Malcolm McDowell In Star Trek Generations
Dr. Tolian Soran goes down inStar Trekhistory asthe villain responsible for killing Captain James T. Kirk(William Shatner). LikeGuinan (Whoopi Goldberg), Soran was an El Aurian, a long-loved race of listeners. In the late 23rd century, Soran was released from the Nexus, an intergalactic energy ribbon that contained an alternate reality that was like"being inside joy".Enacting an 80-year scheme to re-enter the Nexus, Dr. Soran planned to destroy the Veridian star to disrupt the Nexus path to the planet Veridian III, where Soran would be waiting to return to paradise.
An obvious attempt byStar Trek Generationsto echo Khan’s villainy,Dr. Tolian Soran was a relentless madman, although he wasn’t seeking vengeance. YetSoran was willing to kill millions just to return to the Nexus, and he parterned with the Klingon criminal sisters Lursa (Barbara Marsh) and B’Etor (Gwynyth Walsh) to achieve his goal. It took the team-up of Captain Picard and Captain Kirk to stop Soran, at the cost of Kirk’s life. Had the mad doctor killed Kirk by shooting him in the back, as inStar Trek Generations' original cut, it may have guaranteed Soran as the topStar Trek: The Next Generationmovie villain.
Preview audiences disliked the ending where Soran shoots Kirk in the back and kills him, soStar Trek Generations' reshoots had Kirk die from his injuries after a bridge collapse as Jim tried to stop Soran.
2Shinzon
Played By Tom Hardy Star Trek: Nemesis
Shinzon was a clone of Jean-Luc Picardcreated by the Romulans, initially, to replace the Captain of the Enterprise. However, Shinzon suffered from the degenerative Shalaft’s Syndrome, and the Romulans abandoned their Picard switcheroo plan, banishing Shinzon to the mines of Remus. Shinzon gained the loyalty of the Remans and took his vengeance bymassacring the Romulan Senate and installing himself as Praetor. From there, Shinzon planned to attack the United Federation of Planets and Captain Picard with an apocalyptic Thelaron weapon.
Tom Hardy makes Shinzon equally formidable, detestable, and pitiful.
Star Trek: Nemesisis a blatant rehash ofStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, andShinzon is an obvious Khan substitute, complete with a personal vendetta against the Captain of the Enterprise.Tom Hardy makes Shinzonequally formidable, detestable, and pitiful, as the Praetor is clearly dying yet hellbent on revenge. Shinzon’s attempt to use his Thelaron weapon on the Enterprise results in Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) sacrificing himself to save his friends. However, the scope of Shinzon’s plot to level the Federation, and his other dastardly acts like mentally violating Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), make Picard’s clone a truly contemptible baddie.
1The Borg Queen
Played By Alice Krige In Star Trek: First Contact
The Borg Queen is the ruler of the Borg Collective, and the embodiment of their eternal pursuit of perfection in the universe. The Borg Queen retcons what’s known of the Borg fromStar Trek: The Next Generation, giving the alien cyborgs a charismatic persona to menace Captain Picard inStar Trek: First Contact.The Borg Queen’s plot inFirst Contactwas to time-travel to 2063 and assimilate a post-World War III Earthso that the Federation is never formed. As the Borg infect the USS Enterprise-E, theBorg Queen also attempts to seduce Datato be her mate. Ultimately, Picard and Data defeat the Borg Queen and her minions to protectStar Trek’s timeline.
The Borg Queen is both terrifying yet oddly compelling.
Easily the greatest villain introduced byStar Trek: The Next Generation’s movies, theBorg Queen even rivals Khan himself asStar Trek’s all-time greatest villain.The Borg Queen is both terrifying yet oddly compelling, thanks to Alice Krige’s mesmerizing performance. The unforgettable Borg Queen elevatesStar Trek: First Contact, helping cement Jonathan Frakes' feature film debut as the bestStar Trek: The Next Generationmovie. The Queen’s impact has also lasted beyond theStar Trekmovies, as theBorg Queen has returned multiple times, played by different actresses, inStar Trek: VoyagerandStar Trek: Picard. But Alice Krige’s original Borg Queen is still the best.
